Bitcoin Rebounds After Triggering 'Key' Support Amid Hopes of Recovery

Bitcoin rebounded from a wobble a day earlier as the popular crypto’s recent plunge appeared to attract buyers, raising hopes of a recovery. Bitcoin rose 2.96% to $7,555.9 on the Bitfinex exchange from a low of $7,324.7. Bitcoin had plunged to a low of $7,048 on the Bitfinex exchange earlier this week and some analysts said that the move triggered some “very key” support, opening the door to a possible recovery.

"We think Bitcoin is starting to bottom off some very key support around $7,000 and we think it's going to start a recovery process here," Robert Sluymer, head of technical strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors, told CNBC's "Futures Now" on Thursday.

Cryptocurrencies dipped lower on Friday, with Bitcoin falling to a one-week low as the bear market returns.

Bitcoin was trading at $7,426.70, falling 1.70% the Bitfinex exchange, as of 9:20 AM ET (13:20 GMT). The digital currency has struggled to maintain ground after falling toa six-and-a-half week low last week amid reports that the U.S. Justice Department is looking into whether traders are manipulating the price of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Other digital coins were mixed, with Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rising 0.16% to $574.69 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, decreased 0.20% to $0.61192 while Litecoin was at $117.86, down 1.58%.

On the regulatory front, the International Monetary Fund thinks that central banks should regulate cryptocurrency assets to keep the digital coins from having an unfair competitive advantage.

The article, published on Thursday, stressed the need for fiat currencies to become more attractive to investors in the digital age, including issuing their own tokens to supplement cash and bank reserves.
Meanwhile, Israel is considering postponing a law that would regulate cryptocurrency exchanges for four months. The delay was due to the lack of prohibition on money laundering, said Jacob Enoch, co-chair of the Israel Bar Association. “I am concerned that instability in such important decisions could lead to stagnation in existing fintech companies and delay the start of new companies with innovative financial solutions,” he said. “Even worse, this creates antagonism among fintech investors in Israel, which could snowball into a loss of trust.” https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/crypto-falls-as-the-bear-market-returns-1477396

Future Fintech’s shares jumped 27 percent following the announcement Friday, but the rally did not last long. In the course of half an hour the stock had lost most its gains. When markets closed on Friday, shares were trading up 1.4 percent at $2.18.

Bitcoin's move higher Monday was met with stern resistance, turning the popular crypto negative amid a lack of positive catalysts to reignite meaningful demand.
Bitcoin fell 2.84% to $7,503.6 on the Bitfinex exchange after testing a session high of $7,764. Bitcoin's move higher to near $7,800 triggered resistance as it was a price level identified last week as the "next hurdle" in the popular crypto's recovery after it rebounded from a tumble close to $7,500.

Robert Sluymer, head of technical strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors Sluymer said last week bitcoin would have to sustain a rally above its next “hurdle” around the $7,800 price level, to validate the next phase of its recovery.

The waning demand for the popular crypto was characterised by its dwindling popularity on the internet as searches for the term "bitcoin" have dropped more than 75% since the beginning of this year, according to research from Google Trends. This was cited as a bad omen for bitcoin enthusiasts as the volume of searches for "bitcoin," is often viewed as a "proxy for potential new buyers," said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research.
Colas added that he "was not a fan of buying bitcoin at current levels".
The total market cap of cryptocurrencies totalled about $337 billion, at the time of writing, to remain above last week's $329 billion. Ripple XRP fell 2.25% to $0.64805 on the Poloniex exchange, while Ethereum fell 4.37% to $591.02.
Bitcoin Cash fell 6.53% to $1,093.50, while Litecoin fell 4.54% to $119.24. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-recovery-falters-after-rise-near-hurdle-1479543